Page 2 of The Dragon's Captured Heart
A moment later, two more explosions—that was what the red-orange light must have been—rocked the dragon backward, driving it off the edge of the supermarket roof. It disappeared from my view, but not before it took a third anti-tank round right to the face.
“Hah! Fuck you!” I shouted, shaking my fist at the retreating scaled form.
Somewhere else, I could hear the clanking of tracks as the tank-destroyer squadron inched closer. Their weapons would’ve driven the beast off, but only for a time. It would be back soon, and surprise would no longer be on our side.
Soldiers appeared everywhere, and civilians followed shortly after, piling out of the storefronts where they’d hidden from the attack. They had to find a safer place, quickly, before more dragons appeared.
Time. That was all we could buy with our lives. Time for the civilians to run again and stay one step ahead.
It was never enough.
“Hey!” a voice shouted as a helmeted soldier appeared. “Anyone alive in there?”
I waved weakly, trying to give him a thumbs-up.
“Holy shit,” he exclaimed, gesturing. “We’ve got a live one!”
It took a few minutes, but they managed to pry me out of the wreckage. I could barely walk.
“How are you not dead?” the soldier shouted, his shoulder under my arm to keep me upright as we ran from the burning helicopter. “I watched the dragon come for you. He had you deadto rights. Should have burned you up. Then he just stopped. What did you do?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered, a sane part of my brain taking control, realizing that if I said I’d made eye contact with the beast, it wouldn’t go over well. They would think I made a deal with the devil to spare my life.
As it turned out, it didn’t matter.
The story spread, and they all assumed it anyway.
Chapter Two
Callum
It took some time, but I’d finally gotten a rotation back to the Dragon Isles. Although it was home, I wasn’t interested in a homecoming. Not yet. I had something more important to do first.
As soon as the green-blue ocean gave way to sandy shores, I made a beeline toward the single mountain near the center of the largest isle. Each beat of my mighty wings drew me closer, but it also increased the weight on my shoulders. A burden I’d carried for several weeks now.
Ever since I’d seen that human. The one who’d stared into my soul.
The air around me shimmered with heat as my temper flickered and grew, the fire of my very blood expressing its matching disdain. Not for the human but for myself.
I’d committed a betrayal. One I might never be able to return from.
The sprawling stone complex jutting from the side of the mountain grew swiftly as I closed in on it. The palace was hometo the Sovereign of All Dragonkind. Ruler of our people. She and many of our people were housed there, including the palace guards, of which I was one.
But it wasn’t my destination. I flew above it with a single-minded focus, following a small footpath from the palace into the meadows above. The guards on the roof watched me as I went, their eyes always on the sky for any potential danger.
I landed roughly, my claws tearing into the soft dirt, though I barely noticed. My attention was fixated on one area in particular. Statues dotted the open meadow, honoring the ancestors and heroes of ages past. Sculpted bushes and flowers flowed everywhere, delineating pathways for those to follow while still managing to make it look natural.
The Meadow of Martyrs, as it was often called, simply for the alliteration, was a popular place for many in the palace to retreat from everyday life. To seek tranquility and unity with nature.
It was also where my mate had been found dead.
Reaching the corner of the field, behind the statue of an ancient warrior king, I sank down, my back against the stone base, and stared at the ground. A patch of greenery a little darker than the rest was the only indication of where she’d fallen. Where her blood had sunk into the ground, feeding the plant life.
It was all I had left of her.
Dragons didn’t bury their dead, nor did we build tombs. Death was to be embraced, a part of the journey. Mourning was short and sweet, and then we moved on. Supposedly.
I glanced down at my chest through the collar of my shirt. The emerald-green scale was still adhered to my skin. A part of me. A memory of the one who’d given it to me. The love of my life. A woman I’d connected with on a deeper level than any other. Theonly person who could look into my eyes and I could look back, and we saw not one another but eternity.
